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Aldon Smith can’t stop dancing.

By now, you know the lanky linebacker likes to lean back, bob his shoulders and crisscross his arms after making a big play. The rookie might as well have charged for dance lessons Monday night, as he and the 49ers waltzed their way to a 20-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Candlestick Park.

While Smith was busy getting his groove on, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spent most of the evening picking himself off the turf. Either that or he was getting picked off by the relentless 49ers defense.

Not only did Smith notch 2.5 sacks, but he was credited with seven quarterback hits and helped cause one of four 49ers takeaways, in another smothering effort from his team’s defense.

“It’s a pride thing,” Smith said. “It’s a mentality. It’s just something we live by – stop the run, stop the pass, play good defense.”

Roethlisberger came into Monday night’s showdown looking hobbled after he suffered a high ankle sprain last week. The 49ers left him in even worse shape afterwards, forcing three interceptions and shutting the high-powered Pittsburgh passing game out of the end zone.

In fact, if it weren’t for a 51-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham, one which barely snuck over the crossbar, the Steelers could have been shut out for good.

“We’ve got a special group of guys here,” said linebacker Parys Haralson, who has quietly been a rock on the 49ers defense all year. “We’ve got guys that play for each other and understand what they’re supposed to do.”

Monday night’s contest was literally history in the making.

The 49ers became the first team in NFL history to not give up a rushing touchdown through 14 games in a season. Meanwhile, Smith set a new rookie single-season franchise record by upping his sack total to 13, surpassing the mark of 12 set by Charles Haley in 1986. Smith, who got to know Haley during the lockout this past offseason, even had another sack wiped off by a penalty flag.

Perhaps Smith’s most impressive sack of all came early in the fourth quarter, when he leveled Roethlisberger and teamed with Ray McDonald to force a fumble. Eventually, Justin Smith emerged from the pile with the pigskin and held it high over his head, being mobbed by his teammates in celebration.

“It was an old mosh pit down there,” Justin Smith said. “Came up lucky; We’ve got rabbit foots.”

Following the fumble, the 49ers took over at the Pittsburgh 17-yard line and laid their red zone woes to rest, as Frank Gore scampered past the goal line from six yards out to bring the game to its final margin.

Not that Gore needed to score. David Akers’ two first-half field goals supplied all the offense the 49ers would need, as the veteran kicker also surpassed Jerry Rice’s single-season record of 138 points.

Carlos Rogers started off the turnover train with a critical interception to stymie Pittsburgh’s initial drive. Rogers nabbed his sixth pick of the year in the end zone and returned it 31 yards, providing a key momentum swing early in the game.

But Dashon Goldson must have got jealous. Being the ball hawk he is, Goldson had to catch up to Rogers for the team lead in interceptions. So he notched his sixth interception of the year near the end of the first quarter, hauling in a pass that went through the hands of Pittsburgh tight end Heath Miller.

Tarell Brown finished things off with a fourth-quarter interception, giving the 49ers a turnover differential of plus-25 this season, tops in the NFL.

“We’re used to it,” nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga said of the turnovers. “It’s just locked in, automatic.”

Notes and Quotes

Two power outages occurred at Candlestick Park on Monday night, with one coming about 20 minutes before kick-off and another happening early in the second quarter. In all, the outages resulted in about 40 minutes of delays.

Both teams were granted extra time to warm up following the initial power outage, while players stayed loose on the field during the second blackout.

Asked what the 49ers locker room was like before the game, coach Jim Harbaugh joked, “It was dark.”

The 49ers lead the league in scoring defense, allowing 13.2 points per game, which is 2.4 points better than second-ranked Pittsburgh. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit leads the NFL in rush defense (71.5 yards per game), nearly 20 yards better than the next closest team. The 49ers are also No. 1 in the NFL with 96 pass breakups, while they extended their streak of not allowing an individual 100-yard rusher to 36 straight games.

“The sky’s the limit for us,” Goldson said.

Akers leads the NFL with 143 points and 38 made field goals. Punter Andy Lee sported a net average of 49.5 yards on his six punts Monday night, two of which stopped inside the Pittsburgh 10-yard line. Lee has a net average of 44.14 this year and is on pace to break Shane Lechler’s single-season NFL record of 43.85 set in 2009.

Vernon Davis caught six passes for 72 yards and a score. Alex Smith has tossed 26 of his 67 career touchdowns (38.8 percent) to Davis, which is the highest percentage among all active teammates.

Wide receiver Brett Swain hauled in a 9-yard pass from Alex Smith to record his first catch with the 49ers. Rookie guard Daniel Kilgore made his NFL debut.